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Education
Williams addresses communities to assist the Buffalo School System.
Dr. James Williams, superintendent of the Buffalo Public school system addressed block club leaders yesterday evening in South Buffalo. In a brief background of himself to clear up a few misconceptions of what’s printed in the News, he is the son of a minister and a schoolteacher from the south. Growing up with 4 siblings, he said they were raised knowing education was not something to be negotiated.
“Education was something you had to get.”
He recalled.
He is in his thirty-seventh year of an educating career, and came to Buffalo to do a job.
Williams, with goals of bringing back an alternative high school, extending school hours and more parental involvement, said test scores are bottom in all areas.
"What can we do about it?"
He questioned.
After commenting on the attractiveness of the best Magnet Schools here from 1984, the superintendent said everyone takes credit for the problems in the Buffalo Public Schools.
"When you have good schools everything will change.”
Williams stated.
His long-term goal is to give the area the best possible school system.
In a study of the passed 3 years from the schools, Williams said student reading troubles are as low as children in Pre-Kindergarten, and a curriculum is not being taught to students that is "inline" with state standards.
Dr. Williams also signified 24 schools of the system are in the high poverty areas of the City; saying students have lower learning levels and low achieving areas.
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| Superintendent of Buffalo Schools listens to concerns at a South Buffalo meeting. |
Currently, he is focused on having high quality teachers, more parental involvement, regent’s courses and SAT preparedness for students. He is a proponent for an alternate school due to the shifting of difficult students from one school to another without fixing the problems.
On the administrative level of the School System, by law an employee cannot be terminated, instead they are put on paid administrative leave until a review is complete, it's a public policy law Williams would like the challenge.
"Those are the things I get so disgusted about because it's not fair to the (school) system, it's not fair to the children."
He said.
Williams said some people are on leave for a year and the school system is still paying their salary because they can’t be fired even if they’ve committed a serious crime. Lawyer fees are also added into following the termination of an employee. He cited a present hitch to cover one position containing three salaries due to two persons being out on leave.
“We paid $1.8 million dollars and people are sitting at home.”
He stated.
Williams went on to say he does support the unions, but is anti-1965 way of doing things.
"Unions are needed, I support unions."
The superintendent said.
In addition to enacting a new Principle for South Park High School, the only South Buffalo public high school is in a middle of a reconstruction phase and will not face closing in the near future.
In a brief summary of the former Principle Casseri, Williams said it was a "shock" receiving the letter of resignation. Casseri applied for another job and didn't tell anyone, until he turned in his 30-day notice and quit on the spot.
A separate public policy of the Buffalo School System is that any resigning administrator must turn in a 30-day notice, but is not held to those 30 days.
Williams said he is keeping South Park moving ahead and growing by appointing a new principle, Ms. Pat Thomas, whom coincidentally began her first day at South Park yesterday and then attended the evening meeting in South Buffalo.
Williams stated he has a three-year plan to reduce the class sizes especially in the pre-k - 3rd grade schools.
For the idea of an alternate high school, Williams wants to put in place a committee of various community organizations because most of problems are social ones of the community.
Currently, Dr. James Williams would like to bring respect back to the profession.
"We’re going to work hard at it."
He concluded.
© Copyright 2008 by Speakupwny.com
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